Sara Dolan, Christopher M. Rios, Bill Hockaday
Associate Deans of the Graduate School
Baylor University’s vigorous commitment to inclusiveness and belonging is deeply rooted in our core Christian values. Our beliefs dictate that as we advance our research mission, we must do so with care and concern for all members of our community, that we must provide an environment in which important, impactful work can flourish. The Graduate School is making significant efforts to recruit, support, and retain a more diverse campus community to contribute more potently to the global academic enterprise.
A flourishing research enterprise requires a vibrant body of scholars, and the graduate student population contributes mightily to scholarly diversity on campus. Overall, PhD enrollment has increased 30% from 2019 to 2023, driven primarily by increases in females, international students, and students from other underrepresented backgrounds. Female PhD enrollment has increased by 46% from 2019 to 2023, and they now make up 47% of total PhD enrollment. URM PhD students increased 89% from 2019 to 2023 and now make up 22% of all PhD students, up from 19% in 2019. International PhD students have increased by 80% in the same period.
It would be irresponsible to bring scholars from underrepresented backgrounds to campus without the resources they need to thrive. The Graduate School partners with offices across campus to provide opportunities to equip faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to excel.
All colleges and schools have invested in a mentoring program for our female doctoral students who are interested in seeking academic positions. The Women in the Academy (WITA) program, founded by Dr. Laine Scales in 2016, continues to flourish, with 10 mentors serving over 70 female doctoral students from across the institution, including our online programs. The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) organization was founded by graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences and has expanded to include faculty and undergraduates.
The mission of Baylor’s McNair Scholars program is to prepare underrepresented and first-generation students for success in advanced degree programs after graduating from Baylor. The Graduate School collaborated with the McNair program over the summer to offer workshops in fellowship/proposal writing. Ten Baylor undergraduate scholars who remained on campus for summer research experiences also participated in scaffolded exercises leading to the development of the research proposal and personal statements needed for applications to the National Science Foundation’s graduate research fellowship program (NSF GRFP). The Graduate School also offers doctoral fellowships for McNair alumni who come to Baylor in pursuit of the PhD. Our McNair alumni program provides networking, support, and mentoring for our own McNair Scholars undergraduate program. McNair Doctoral Fellows are provided a 100% tuition wavier, an 80% subsidy for health insurance, a non-work related fellowship, and a 5 year stipend with reduced departmental service in the first year.
International students continue to be supported through a partnership with the Center for Global Engagement. Many arrive at Baylor with challenges related to speaking and writing in English. Teaching, publishing, and presenting original research are the currencies by which academic excellence and workforce readiness are evaluated. Learning these skills in a second language while also meeting the demands of discipline specific coursework is not trivial. Fortunately, students and their faculty mentors don’t face the challenge alone. Tanya Vernon instructs Teaching in English, GBL 5201, on multiple days and times to accommodate student schedules. There are 15 students enrolled this Fall. New for Spring 2024, we will offer an English for Academic Purposes: Graduate Writing course, GBL 5103, taught by Christine Fabiszewski. The writing course reinforces skills and strategies in grammar, proofreading, editing, citation, synthesis, and ethics in writing.
Our work with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research has been fruitful, providing research, grant writing, mentoring, and academic job search workshops for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Provost’s Office provides numerous resources as well, including an institutional membership in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, support for mentoring programs, and support for diverse faculty and staff needs through a variety of affinity groups and conferences.
The Graduate School’s partnerships across the university continue to foster a more inclusive campus, and as graduate education continues to grow at Baylor, we continue to explore opportunities to enhance the educational experience for our scholars from diverse backgrounds.